SAN FRANCISCO, CA – La Quercia founders Herb & Kathy Eckhouse added a 4th Good Food Award to their shelf this month, this time for Speck Americano, prosciutto that is lightly cold smoked over apple wood. On January 15th, over 800 people gathered to pay tribute to 176 Good Food Award Winners of 2016. By the majestic Golden Gate Bridge on the San Francisco Bay numerous farmers, chefs, journalists, and activists united to celebrate exceptional food crafters including luminaries Alice Waters, Nell Newman and Slow Food Founder, Carlo Petrini.
La Quercia calls their award winning Speck Americano “a charcuterie board crowd pleaser”. La Quercia prosciutto is aged for 9-12 months then cold smoked over apple wood, adding the evocative aroma of the open fire to the deep sweetness of the meat. The producer recommends pairing their Speck with hard cider, a wide range of beer and wine, and almost any cheese, as well as wrapping it around fruit, grilled vegetables, or grissini for an easy happy hour bite. Made with pork that is raised humanely on family farms in Iowa and central Missouri without the use of antibiotics. Ingredients are pork and sea salt — no nitrates or nitrites added. Sold at specialty markets across the nation and available via mail order: http://laquercia.us/order_cured_la_quercia_meats.
About the Good Food Awards
The Good Food Awards grants awards to outstanding American food producers for products that are tasty, authentic and responsibly produced. The 2016 winners harken from 33 states, having risen to the top amongst 1,937 entries in a Blind Tasting with 203 judges held in September. The highest scoring entries were submitted to a rigorous vetting process to verify they met the sustainability and social responsibility criteria to win a Good Food Awards – with over two dozen ultimately disqualified. This year’s winners represent the forefront of American craft food, making products that are delicious, respectful of the environment, and connected to communities and cultural traditions. Seedling Projects 501 (c) 3 organizes the Awards in collaboration with a broad community of food producers, food writers and passionate food-lovers. Find more information at: goodfoodawards.org. Media Contact Samantha Putman: 415/447.3268 samantha@seedlingprojects.org
About La Quercia
Husband and wife Herb and Kathy Eckhouse began La Quercia with the goal of making uniquely delicious cured meats from humanely raised American pork. Their appreciation of fine cured meats was sparked by several years living in Parma, Italy, but it was the bounty of the Midwest that inspired them to start curing meats in their Des Moines, Iowa, basement a decade ago. Although the company now operates in a much larger facility in nearby Norwalk, Iowa, the Eckouses and their team still salt, turn and trim each piece by hand. The company’s products, which include several varieties of prosciutto, pancetta, coppa, guanciale, lardo and salami, have been embraced by taste-making chefs and retailers, and hailed by Food & Wine, Bon Appétit, Vogue and many other publications. Learn more at www.laquercia.us.
Source: La Quercia
